SUNNYSIDE GROUP SUGGESTS POLICE BACK OFF

It's no secret that dealers and junkies are nearly as enamored of the
Sunnyside neighborhood as young bohemians, ex-hippie soccer moms and people
looking for a trendy restaurant.

Residents often complain about drug users panhandling on Southeast
Hawthorne Boulevard and waking up to find used syringes dumped on front lawns.

But rather than demand that police ratchet up enforcement, the neighborhood
association is considering a resolution asking officers to take it easy on
the local drug trade.

The association's board was supposed to vote on the measure Thursday night
but failed to get a quorum. It goes on next month's agenda.

The "Community Drug Peace Resolution" declares that the decades-old police
battle against drugs is doing more harm than good. Among other things, it
suggests scrapping laws that prohibit everything from growing marijuana to
doctors prescribing heroin.

The resolution is being pushed by a small group of residents, led by Floyd
Landrath, who was behind the failed campaign to declare the neighborhood a
Hemp Enforcement Free Zone in the early 1990s.

This time, Landrath has board president Paul Loney on his side. In fact,
Loney, who would like to see drugs pulled from the criminal arena and made
strictly a health care issue, is the co-author.

Loney says the resolution is simply a symbolic move intended to spur debate
with police about how best to deal with drugs and addiction. Amid Measure
28 budget cuts, this seems like the perfect time, he says.

But Devra Staneart, vice president of the neighborhood board, says the
board is moving too quickly -- and quietly -- on the proposal. "We need to
give the community more of an opportunity to comment," she says.

Police Capt. Cliff Madison of the drugs and vice division hadn't seen the
resolution. But just the idea made him scratch his head. "I hate to think
the neighborhood association would not want us to do things that affect the
livability of their neighborhood," Madison says.